The Company Of The Committed

“The Company of the Committed”

Acts 2:41-47

Scripture Reading

Acts 2:46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,

47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

I. The Ordination of the Church

a. God planned the church

If Jesus was a “…lamb slain before the foundation of the world…” then God must have had the church planned from eternity past! The church was not just an after thought that God had when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden!

b. God purchased the church

1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

c. God preserved the church

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

II. The Organization of the Church

a. It’s head

Ephesians 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

b. It’s heralds

Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Why Go To Church

ILL - A Churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I’ve gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.

Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

c. It’s heart

Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.

Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Some might point at this building and say that it is the First Free Will Baptist Church of Dothan, Alabama but they would be wrong! This church is not brick and mortar, it is flesh and bone, it is not stained glass and pews, it is born again believers who love the Lord Jesus more than life itself, it is not a house made with hands but a body that has been redeemed by the sinless, spotless, son of the living God and Jesus is his name. Bricks and mortar could never do what these folks were doing in our text, as a matter of fact it would be several generations before they would move from their homes to established places of worship!

ILL -

10% of church members cannot be found?

20% of church members never attend church

25% admit that they never pray

35% admit that they do not read their Bibles

40% admit that they never contribute to the church?tithe or offering

60% never give to missions

70% never assume responsibility within the church

85% never invite anyone to church

95 % have never won anyone to Christ

BUT! 100% expect to go to heaven

(The Choice, by Thomas Trask, Zondervan Pub. House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1999)

If the work of the church is not done by the heart of the church it just will not get done. Folks will die and go to a Devil’s hell if we do not tell them about Jesus.